Conspiracy (episode)
After the mysterious death of a distinguished Starfleet captain and the destruction of his ship, the Enterprise-D finds Starfleet Command acting erratically, with key officers possessed by alien neural parasites. Summary While en route to Pacifica, Jean-Luc Picard receives a code 47 emergency message from Walker Keel, an old friend who is captain of the . Keel asks Picard for a secret rendezvous on the abandoned mining colony on Dytallix B. Picard meets with Walker and two other captains, Tryla Scott and Rixx, who, after confirming Picard's identity with a series of questions about his past, tell him about their suspicions of a conspiracy of some sort reaching up to the highest levels of Starfleet Command. Picard looks into the matter, having Data review Starfleet directives of the past six months. While Data is reviewing the records, the encounters the debris of Keel's ship. In light of Keel's death, Picard tells Riker about the suspicions Keel voiced. During their conversation, Data enters and tells them what he has found: during the past six months there has been a great deal of "uncustomary reshuffling of personnel – usually in the command areas," and the new officers have had a great deal of contact with the highest levels of command. Data hypothesizes that the reorganizations are an attempt by a hostile force or individual to control important sectors of Federation territory. Faced with this information, the Enterprise returns to Earth. under the influence of neural parasites]] Upon entering orbit, the Enterprise is contacted by three admirals from Starfleet Command, requesting an explanation for their return. Picard states that he would prefer a discussion of that sort occur in private; the three admirals convene for a moment, then invite Picard and Riker to dinner at Starfleet Headquarters for the discussion to take place. Rear Admiral Quinn says that he will not be able to attend the dinner, but that he would like to see the Enterprise again. Just before he beams up, he looks at a scorpion-like creature he has in a case. When Quinn is on board the Enterprise, he bluffs his way through references to old times, and states that his earlier perception of a threat to the Federation was merely a metaphor for the "tumultuous process" of assimilating new races into the Federation. Picard realizes that Admiral Quinn is an impostor of some sort and tells Riker to observe Quinn closely and have Dr. Crusher give him a medical examination under false pretenses; after Riker reaches his conclusions, he is to join Picard on Earth. Picard then beams down and meets with Rear Admiral Savar and Vice Admiral Aaron, as well as Dexter Remmick. On the ship in the guest quarters, Quinn offers to show Riker the creature and tells him about it. It was discovered by a Starfleet survey team on an uncharted planet, and Quinn refers to it as "a superior form of life". When Riker says he'll get his science officer, Quinn grabs his arm very strongly, saying the creature will only like Riker. After a brief scuffle, in which Quinn displays amazing strength, Riker is knocked unconscious. When security arrives, Quinn says that Riker slipped and hit his head, and then announces his departure. When Worf and La Forge try to detain him, he throws La Forge through a door and similarly beats Worf before being phasered by Dr. Crusher. In sickbay, Crusher's scans show that Quinn really is Quinn, but she discovers a bizarre appendage sticking out of the back of his neck. On Earth, the two admirals try to subtly persuade Picard that there is in fact no conspiracy. Dinner is announced, so Picard takes a moment to contact Riker. Crusher answers on Riker's communicator, as Riker is unconscious. Crusher informs Picard that a parasitic creature of some sort has taken control of Quinn and all his brain functions. The spike at the back of Quinn's neck appears to be a gill, which is a helpful indicator of those who have been taken over by one of the creatures. Crusher states her doubts about removing the creature, believing it would kill Quinn. She instructs Picard to set his phaser to kill rather than stun, which has little effect on the creature or its host; Picard, however, believing that no one beams down to Starfleet Headquarters armed, has no phaser with him at all. Picard goes in to dinner. The dish being served is a bowl filled with mealworms. Picard is disgusted, and realizes that everyone at the dinner has been infiltrated by the aliens. He gets up to leave, and runs into Riker. Riker has also apparently been taken over by the creature: he has a gill in his neck. So, too, has Captain Scott. The "conspirators" announce that they have known of Picard's intentions the whole time. They talk of their plan to infiltrate the Enterprise. Riker moves to eat, but instead he pulls out his phaser and shoots the dining security guard. When Captain Scott draws her phaser at Riker, Picard grabs at her arm and throws off her aim, allowing Riker to shoot her as well. However, Admiral Savar begins to subdue Riker with a Vulcan neck pinch. Picard then grabs Captain Scott's phaser and uses it to incapacitate Savar. Admiral Aaron flees the dining room, and Picard and Riker pursue and shoot him in the hallway. He falls to the ground, and the parasite infesting him crawls out of his mouth and under a nearby door. They follow it to find Remmick sitting in a chair. He turns to look at it, and the creature crawls up his body and enters his mouth. He swallows it, and it begins moving around in his neck. "We mean you no harm", he says, as his neck bulges in and out. "We seek peaceful coexistence". Picard and Riker open fire with their phasers, knocking Remmick back. Riker aims higher and destroys Remmick's head. Remmick's chest cavity begins to dissolve and a large creature breaks through with several blood soaked parasites trickling behind. Disgusted, Picard opens fire again with Riker following suit, both phasers continuing until the creature is burned away, leaving a decapitated smoldering mess that was once Lieutenant Commander Remmick. Back aboard the Enterprise, Picard notes in his log that with the death of the "mother creature" inside of Remmick, the remaining parasites died while Riker reveals that Dr. Crusher had simulated the gill on the back of his neck in order to fool everyone, including Picard. As the Enterprise moves on into space, Data theorizes that Remmick had been transmitting a homing beacon before he died and that should the parasites receive it, they would know where to find Earth. Memorable quotes "How about you, Mr. Worf?" "and shakes his head Swimming is too much like... bathing." : - Deanna Troi and Worf, regarding past experiences of moonlight swims "It won't like your science officer. It DOES LIKE YOU! Vitamins... they do wonders for the body." : - Quinn "Friendship must dare to risk, Counselor, or it isn't friendship." : - Picard, on risking his career to follow up on Walker Keel's conspiracy theory "Captain, you must set your phaser on kill. Stun has little effect." "Doctor, one does not beam down to Starfleet Headquarters armed." : - Dr. Crusher and Picard "If I could see, I'd be seeing stars." : - La Forge, after regaining consciousness from being thrown through a door "Whats our ETA to Pacifica Mr. La Forge?" "22 hours and 14 minutes." "Increase to Warp 6." "Aye sir, full impulse." : - Riker and La Forge "You don't understand. We mean you no harm. We seek peaceful co-existence!" : - Remmick Background information Story concept art for a scene from the episode]] Writer Tracy Tormé, adapting a story by Robert Sabaroff to The Next Generation, had hoped to make "Conspiracy" a commentary on the Iran/Contra Affair, but this potentially controversial notion was nixed. A plot by Starfleet officers out to undermine the Prime Directive (already introduced six episodes before in ), turned out to be the result of an infestation of alien insects, not part of Tormé's original approach. The original version of the script did not feature alien parasites; the conspiracy in question was simply a military coup within Starfleet. Gene Roddenberry vehemently opposed such an idea, since he believed Starfleet would never stoop to such methods; there was just no way Tormé could get away with suggesting that the Federation was anything less than a perfect government. Thus the alien angle was introduced at his insistence. (DS9 later featured a similar plot, however, in the two-part episodes and .) On its first airing in the UK, the BBC cut several minutes of footage from the episode (most notably the death of Remmick). In addition, Space, Canada's science fiction network, precedes this episode with a viewer discretion warning, the only The Next Generation episode to receive this. Indeed, the whole idea of the episode, its violence, and its unresolved ending caused quite a stir, but Robert Justman, Rick Berman, and Rob Lewin backed Tormé against the objections of Maurice Hurley, and the show stood pretty much as he had intended it, with the topical references subtly shoved under the carpet. Things did not go so well for writer Tormé in the future; he was left with the feeling that, as far as creative freedom for writers, the second half of Star Trek: The Next Generation s second season was the best part of the series as a whole. Although the episode closed on a suspenseful note, no resolution has yet been seen. When the Borg were being created a year later, it was initially suggested that they in fact be the aliens from these episodes, a race of mechanical insectoids. (Trek: The Unauthorized Behind-The-Scenes Story of The Next Generation). This was also discussed in Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, which states that the aliens and the homing signal the parasites began were originally supposed to lead in to what would become the Borg, who would be an insectoid race and the parasites be a first wave, but budgetary reasons made them into cyborgs instead. Production * Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) does not appear in this episode. * The opening credits to this episode include Denise Crosby's character, Natasha Yar. Yar was killed off and didn't appear regularly after . * Jonathan Frakes states that during the dinner scene, grub worms did "cross" his lips. * The episode's score, composed by Dennis McCarthy, was recorded on at the Universal Studios Scoring Stage (http://trekmovie.com/2011/07/12/full-track-list-artwork-from-new-star-trek-tng-music-collection/), as The Next Generation s usual recording location, Paramount Stage M, was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts (http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/notes/box05_season2.html). Cues M51, M52, M53, M54, M55, and M56 from the score (covering the entirety of Act Five), totalling 7 minutes 44 seconds, appear on Disc One of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Collection, Volume One. * The chair in which Remmick is seated is a redress of the wheelchair used by Admiral Mark Jameson in . Continuity * This episode marks the first appearance of a Bolian. ]] * The exterior footage of Starfleet Headquarters was recycled from ; as such, this episode is the only time Tellarites appear on TNG. They are wearing robes originally worn by Kazarites in . * When Data is commenting on the orders he has just read, the computer interrupts him by saying "Thank you, sir. I comprehend." This is the only time in all of Star Trek when a Federation computer speaks in the first-person narrative ("I"). The non-canon reference work Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual explains this by stating that the Enterprise computer was one of the most advanced ever constructed and was in fact self-aware. It is also one of the only times the computer has expressed "frustration" with its user, more often the frustration is the other way around. * Amongst the logs reviewed by Data, the "Great Bird of the Galaxy" can briefly be seen. * This is the last appearance of the Starfleet Admiral's uniform which was seen through the first season of The Next Generation. The uniform, notable for its "triangle pip" insignia, was replaced in Season Two by an interim uniform which used the more familiar "boxed pip" insignia. By season three, the admiral's uniform was changed again to become the standard which was used for the rest of the series. and Beta Quadrant star chart seen behind Remmick]] * A star chart featured in this episode, on the wall behind Remmick's chair, was created by the art department and shows several dozen planets and star systems mentioned in TOS and TAS. The star chart was re-used in many more TNG episodes and recently appeared in the of the Doctor Who spin-off series in the eponymous main character's attic. * This is the first episode of the series to feature Earth. * The Vulcan nerve pinch is used in this episode, however unlike TOS, a person doesn't fall unconscious after the pinch but grimaces in pain. Awards * This episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Series. Video and DVD releases *Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 13, catalogue number VHR 2466, :Natasha Yar's face is obscured by shadow on the video sleeve, reflecting her death in the previous volume. *UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 1.8, catalogue number VHR 4649, *As part of the TNG Season 1 DVD collection Apocrypha * The neural parasites have thus far never reappeared on-screen, but have been shown in a comic book taking control of a spacefaring species called the "Onglaatu" in a DC TNG story entitled "The Broken Moon!". * The parasites have also returned in Pocket Books' new DS9 series of novels, first in The Lives of Dax, in which Audrid Dax and Christopher Pike discover that the parasites are closely related to the Trill. The last book in the Mission: Gamma series then picks this up, leading into the novel Unity in which it is revealed that the Trill symbionts and the neural parasites have been fighting a long secret war, with several species worth of hosts and governments as their weapons against each other. The parasites' latest gambit has been the continued fervor for Bajor to join the Federation; for unknown reasons this would represent a great victory to their secret plan. * This story arc is completed in the novel Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume 2, Trill & Bajor by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin, in which the parasites are revealed to actually be genetically modified Trill symbionts, created on the remote Trill colony of Kurl. A deadly plague had been killing symbionts, and the experiments were intended to develop a cure. However, the experiment failed, and the symbionts so affected became violent and xenophobic - the parasites - and swore revenge on Trill society for this disaster. Links and references Starring * Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard * Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker Also starring * LeVar Burton as Lt. Geordi La Forge * Michael Dorn as Lt. Worf * Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher * Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi * Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data Guest stars * Henry Darrow as Savar * Ward Costello as Gregory Quinn * Robert Schenkkan as Dexter Remmick * Ray Reinhardt as Aaron * Jonathan Farwell as Walker Keel Guest-stars * Michael Berryman as Captain Rixx * Ursaline Bryant as Captain Tryla Scott Uncredited co-stars * Majel Barrett as computer voice * Tim McCormack as Bennett * Lorine Mendell as Diana Giddings * Brad Phillips as a command division lieutenant * Richard Sarstedt as a command division officer * Gary J. Wayton as a Starfleet security officer * Unknown performers as two Tellarite councilors (archive footage) Stunt doubles * Tom Morga as stunt double for Jonathan Frakes * Jim Wilkey as stunt double for Ray Reinhardt * Unknown stunt performers ** Stunt double for Ward Costello ** Stunt double for LeVar Burton ** Stunt double for Michael Dorn Stand-ins * James G. Becker - stand-in for Jonathan Frakes * Darrell Burris - stand-in for LeVar Burton * Dexter Clay - stand-in for Michael Dorn * Jeffrey Deacon - stand-in for Patrick Stewart * Nora Leonhardt - stand-in for Marina Sirtis * Tim McCormack - stand-in for Brent Spiner * Lorine Mendell - stand-in for Gates McFadden References 2364; admiral; adrenal glands; Aldebaran; Alfa 177; Alpha Carinae; Alpha Centauri; Alpha Majoris; Altair VI; Altairian Conference; ; Andonian tea; Andor; Ariannus; Arret; Babel; Benecia; Berengaria VII; Beta Aurigae; Beta Geminorum; Beta Lyrae; Beta Niobe; Beta Portolan; blue gill; Bolians; Camus II; Canopus III; Capella; code 47; Crusher, Jack; Daran V; Delaplane; Delta Vega; Deneb; Dytallix Mining Company; Earth; Ekos; Eminiar; Fabrina; First Federation; frigate; Gamma Canaris N; Gamma Trianguli; governor; heavy cruiser; Holberg 917G; holodeck; homing beacon; ''Horatio'', USS; Ingraham B; Janus VI; ''John F. Kennedy'', USS; Kling; Kzin; Karapleedeez, Onna; Keel, Anne; Keel, Melissa; Lactra VII; Makus III; Marcus XII; Marnak IV; McKinney; Memory Alpha; Mira Antliae; Mira Antliae system; Mira Antliae V ("Dytallix B"); Mira Antliae system; Mudd; neural parasite; Omega IV; Omega Cygni; orbital shuttle; Organia; Orion; Orion sector; Orion Sector Tactical Command; Outer Rim; Pacifica; Pallas 14; Phylos; Pollux IV; Psi 2000; Pyris VII; rear admiral; Regulus; Remus; ''Renegade'', USS; Rigel; Romulan Neutral Zone; Romulus; sector 63; senility; Sipe, Ryan; Sarpeid; Sirius; Sol; Sol sector; Starbase 12; Starbase 4077; Starfleet Command; Starfleet Headquarters; Starfleet ranks; surveyor; swimming; Talos; Tau Ceti; Tau Ceti III; Theta III; Tholian Assembly; unnamed LCARS file starships; Unnamed Federation space stations; ''Thomas Paine'', USS; vice admiral; voice print identification; Vulcan; Zeon Log entries *[[First officer's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)#Mission to Earth|First officer's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)]] *[[Captain's personal log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)#Mission to Earth|Captain's personal log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)]] *[[Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2364#Mission to Earth|Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2364]] External link * * * |next= }} cs:Conspiracy de:Die Verschwörung es:Conspiracy fr:Conspiracy ja:TNG:恐るべき陰謀 nl:Conspiracy Category:TNG episodes